IMEX Group Announces Growth in Partnerships for 2014

The IMEX Group, organizer of two global trade shows for the meetings, incentive travel and events industry, has announced a number of new association partnerships together with several added-value developments to existing agreements.

Two new awards have been added to the roster being presented at the annual IMEX Gala Dinner in May. A new ‘Destination Marketing Award’ will be presented by Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) in recognition of a successful marketing or branding campaign undertaken by a single destination. The Award comes at a time when many destinations are powering ahead with the use of social media and using more advanced marketing techniques to differentiate their product offerings.

In addition, a new International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) International Excellence Award will recognize an individual or organization who has made “exceptional strides in creating, launching and managing an international event in the exhibitions and events industry” over the past year.

As part of IMEX’s long-term business strategy the company is starting to offer more tailored professional education to special interest groups in the German meetings and events sector. A new partnership with the German Association of Scientific Medical Societies (AWMF) sees the trade body co-locating a tax seminar on the morning of IMEX Association Day in Frankfurt to allow its members to attend the Association Day event in the afternoon as well as the evening networking reception.

IMEX is also formalizing its partnership with the Association of German Travel Managers (VDR). The result is an initial agreement for the VDR to market the Exclusively Corporate @IMEX day to its members to encourage them to attend as hosted buyers. More joint initiatives are planned as the partnership grows.

Continued, rapid expansion in the Asian meetings market in recent years has given rise to several new industry associations in the region, as well as growth in the number of hosted buyers attending the IMEX shows. The Philippines Council for the Advancement of Association Executives is one such association currently exploring ways of working together and, as a significant first step, its Executive Director will pay a formal visit to IMEX in Frankfurt in May.

The longstanding partnership between IMEX and ECM – European Cities Marketing – has also been expanded and has already resulted in a significant boost to joint meetings industry advocacy efforts. In December ECM handed over 20 political signatories for the IMEX Declaration of Support during its CEO Meeting of Capital and Major Cities. This brings the number of signatories to the Declaration to just one short of its first-year target of 100 named supporters.

During the year IMEX will also be collaborating with the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC) and Development Counselors International (DCI) on a research study about generational differences in the meetings market. Results are set to be announced at IMEX in Frankfurt in May.

ISES, the International Special Events Society, has elected to co-locate its 2014 board meeting with IMEX America in Las Vegas in October for the first time. The society’s members collectively plan and deliver over 1 million events annually and represent a powerful group of buyers within the US events market.

Commenting on the announcements, IMEX Group CEO, Carina Bauer said: “IMEX America and IMEX in Frankfurt have both been built on a strategy of forming close, mutually beneficial working relationships with key industry associations. Today’s announcements demonstrate that there is still plenty of scope for innovation and expansion at both the shows. We will continue to work with relevant, specialist groups to ensure that IMEX offers ‘something for everyone’ while maintaining clear focus on our ultimate purpose: to enable and create face-to-face business between buyers and exhibitors.”

IMEX in Frankfurt opens on May 20 at Messe Frankfurt. Association Day and Exclusively Corporate @IMEX both take place on Monday May 19.